Just when we thought things were at least, maybe, possibly simmering down, several indie games were pulled from Steam allegedly due to the reluctance of Valve to comment on the BLM movement.
BLM needs little to no introduction, because it has been at the forefront of social media for a while now. Whereas the gaming community has witnessed action, statement, or empathetic acknowledgments of the movement (remember itch.io ?) , it seems that there has been some sort of outcry resulting from Valve’s lack of mention on the subject.
One of the devs, Julian Glander, creator of Art Sqool and Lovely Weather We’re Having posted a tweet in protest:
“Over the past few weeks, Steam and Valve have chosen not to address the Black Lives Matter movement, failing to make even a broad and generic statement about racial justice,”
“It’s clear than ever that the owners of this platform feel beholden to a base of angry white male gamers. This makes me especially sad because I feel that some of these people are the people who most need to hear the message of Black Lives Matter. Obviously as a company you guys do whatever you want but I find having my games associated with the Steam platform to be embarrassing and a little nauseating.”
Since the tweet, both of Glander’s games have been removed from Steam. The Steam site for these does still exist, but purchasing the games is not possible. Glander has not been the only one to remove his content; other indie developers have been encouraged and games like Test Tube Titans (released by Ghost Time Games) and First Winter have been removed.
While these games may be smaller in margin to other titles, it can have a ripple effect and cause other professional developers to put pressure on Valve and force a hand against its already biggest competitor, Epic Games, as well as other game sites which might use this opportunity to cash in on a consumer needing to be pacified.
So, was the decision by the developers a good move? Was Glander’s tweet in poor taste, or justified? And will this impact the influence that Valve has? You decide…